Eitan Reiter, A.K.A. Out of Orbit, is one of the most famous Israeli Electronic Music producers, and a member of the inspiring duo trance project, “Loud”.
Eitan has performed at the top venues and festivals, occasionally headlining the events.
Eitan's musical journey started in 2005 with the Eitan Reiter Project for Techno and Ambient. “Loud” was the project that revealed his (and Kobi’s) talent to the Psytrance world. Eitan and Kobi played together at the Ozora festival in Hungary, the Boom festival in Portugal, the Universo Paralello festival in Brazil, the Eclipse festival in the US, and many other venues around the globe.
When the project broke up in 2017, Eitan invested more time in his solo acts, which he played in parallel to “Loud”, performing as Eitan Reiter very often. Following his love of Trance and the crowd's demand, Out Of Orbit project emerged - a solo Psytrance project whose first album was called 'Wisdom Of The Crowds', a shout-out to his fans’ transformative impact on his music.
Nowadays, both Eitan Reiter and the Out Of Orbit projects are very successful. The projects showcase Eitan's unique, timeless sound signature as a musician who can play at any BPM while preserving the same feelings of tension,surprise, and old-school synths sounds fused into an atmosphere reminiscent of the early days of trance.
Besides being a producer and DJ, Eitan sells sound packs and provides artist development, music production & arrangement, sound design, mixing, remixing, private classes, studio, and live setups.
As Dekel and Shayman made evident to me in their ‘Face Behind the Artist' interview series articles, their musical journey was inspired by Eitan who guided and helped them to shape their sound and find the true artist inside themselves.
On a personal note, I met Eitan for the first time in surreal circumstances.
To support survivors from the Nova party, the Nova production hosts events where survivors can get together, and hang out with their friends who went through those incredibly hard times together on October 7th and get exposed to workshops aimed at easing their recovery process.
I used to volunteer there to help the production running these events, and in one of these, Eitan came to jam with Dekel.
I came to say hello to Dekel and he introduced me to Eitan, which is also the name of my oldest son, something that I shared with Eitan and immediately caught his attention.I’ve been at a number of Eitan’s live shows in the past but hadn’t had the chance to meet him in person. When I finally did meet him,I was intrigued by Eitan's open ears and real intent to have a small talk with someone he doesn’t know.
That day I knew... Someday, I’ll ask Eitan to have an interview as part of this series and I am so happy to welcome him here and share with you the face behind the artist - Eitan Reiter.
So, like in the famous track L.S.Dance ‘Here it comes’….
The Face Behind the Artist - Eitan Reiter
LLLLLL SSSSSSSS DDDDDDD….
Eitan Reiter
Interview with Eitan Reiter
Where did you grow up, Eitan?
I was born in 1982, in Haifa.
I have 2 little siblings. A brother who is quite a famous Israeli entrepreneur in the Israeli Hi-Tech industry, and a sister who is currently a dancer living in Amsterdam.
What can you tell me about your childhood?
I had a great childhood. I grew up in quite a hippie home. My dad worked in a company in the defense/security industry, where part of his job included relocations to Australia (at the ages of ~8-10) and to the US (at the of ~13-15) which were very cool experiences for me.
Fun fact: I was in the same school with Kobe Briant :).
What kind of a guy were you in the hood?
I was living like a hippie rockstar.
I wasn’t thinking about the future. I just tried to enjoy my time the best I could, having fun going out with friends, going to parties, enjoying a fruitful social life, and stuff like that.
How did trance music come into your life?
A sister of a good friend of mine was back from Goa. She showed us pictures and took us to trance parties and it just got me.
When you heard it, back then, did you know that it was going to become such a big part of your life?
The dreams popped up immediately. However, I dreamed small: 'I want to sit with friends and play my own track', 'I have to release a track', 'I want to have my own album' and so on...
Over time, the dreams came true and I had a bigger little dream until Loud had started and then I dreamed of being something big like Infected Mushroom.
Nevertheless, I always had a high work ethic. When I was young I was a painter, going to people's homes and business places to paint on their walls.I think this combination plays a big role in a project's success.
So, how did you evolve to be a DJ? How did that even start?
At the age of 15, when the family headed back to Israel from the US, we lived in a town in the Galil area (quite far from the city). There, I found myself bored, which led me to play with sounds in the legendary music production software - Impulse Tracker.
I didn't really know what I was doing until a friend of mine (Yair Melamed) who connected to Erez Eisen, half of the legendary Infected Mushroom, introduced me to Erez.
Erez taught me about how to better use the software and create in general and also gave me some sounds to start with.
A friend and mentor - Erez Eisen from Infected Mushroon
I was always devoted to my creation journey on the software but there was a profound moment when I knew this should be my life.
It was on a trip to Brazil at the age of ~23. I was at the Solaris Festival with my friends (it was in 2005) and then I realized that I wanted to be a DJ.
Practically speaking, it was the way to live my life tripping around the world while doing what I love the most.
Eitan with friends at the Solaris Festival
What happened then?
So, before my South America trip, I met Leon Gossler through a friend called Oren. Leon had a studio and was pretty involved in the local scene. He held synths in his studio. I went to his place and got mesmerized by his equipment: simple Virus , Nord, and a set of monitors. We made two tracks together. It was a dream come true.
Later on, that same Oren introduced me to Kobi (Toledano), who was already playing in trance parties in known local Israeli clubs like the Luna and Ultrasound. The music in his sets was always very appealing to me.
Then, during the trip in South America I heard my tracks being played by other people who traveled in South America. This was crazy to me and packed me with confidence in my creation.
At the end of the trip we all went to Solaris Festival 2005 near SaoPaulo. It was actually done by Du Serena who, funnily enough, is my agent in Brazil these days. That festival was the 1st time I danced with 5000 people for a few days, as opposed to the 50 to 100 people we had in forest parties here in Israel. It was simply a life changing experience for me.
One day after the festival I went back to Israel to build my studio in my childhood neighborhood at the Krayot.
I still remember myself standing on my feet all day long to finish my first track while feeling that I'm still in the festival in Brazil, being true to my very clear vision. The idea was to create something new that I had never heard before.
My creation flow was good but then I realized that I had to start playing in parties and I thought it would be good to work with Kobi as we had styles that can go very well together.
I clearly remember the day when Kobi came to my studio, brought a bunch of instruments, and set me up, not to say, leveled me up. He was pretty professional compared to where I was, and taught me about frequencies and stuff I wasn't aware of.
Then we just started to create our first track, 'No More X'- which states our vision- to avoid being one more of the same patterns but to be unique.
The second track was 'Small Talk', which was very hard to sign on labels. The feedback was that this track won’t succeed…
Eitan Reiter with Kobi Toledano A.K.A Loud
So they said... The rest is history :)
How is your family reacting to your job at that stage?
My parents have always supported me to be who I am. However, when choosing a DJ/Trance Producer career they always told me that I need to take care of my economic future. From that point of view, they pushed me to understand that if I want to live from this, I need to succeed at any cost.
Nowadays, can you tell me about DJ's work-life balance - endless studio time and touring for full seasons while having a family is almost impossible...
Luckily, my lovely wife and I grew up together.
Our romantic relationship started when I was ~27 years old so she knew what she was getting into. From my experience, the partner of a DJ should be a very strong partner who has their own world and needs their time as well. Slowly, our relationship has consolidated into a love story and life partnership.
Thinking about young DJs that read this, what can you tell them about the marketing aspect of being a DJ?
The media is very important. It's an essential part of being a DJ.
Loud pioneered all that comes to the media in our scene. We formed the first full set video from a festival and showed highlights from parties together with Ben Kircshenbaum.
Moreover, the DJ must push him/herself in any possible way.
I worked around the clock to book myself, doing whatever it takes like saying to a German production: "I'm in Germany right now" and then booking the flight to Germany only if I got the gig.
A DJ also needs to promote his music to labels and other producers. It is an essential part of the job.
Loud live show video from Boom 2014
Let's talk about music...
I'll start with a debate I have with my wife. I think that an artist needs to create what he feels good about, and if it works - it works. However, she claims that a DJ needs to think about the crowd and do what the audience asks for.
Then, there is that vocal in 'Goblin's Talking' by Loud - where Udi, A.K.A Goublin, tells about his moment of enlightenment about wanting to be a DJ (in a free translation to English) “I wanted to know what people feel between the speakers and do that myself… I didn't care about shows or money, I wanted to create the impact…).
So, the question is: what leads you in your creation journey- is it more about satisfying the audience, or is it about being honest and true to yourself?
Ill tell you this:
When I create, I am the crowd.
When I play, the crowd is the crowd.
DJ and Producer are two different things. Yuli, A.K.A Perfect Starnger, told me at the beginning of my journey: “When you’ll know to play Loud the way I do…”.
Funny thing... He was right!
However, I pay attention to the performer's heart and what he/she is trying to do.I’ll connect more to someone’s soul than to someone’s profession.
I still play tracks from Loud’s first album including a track I wrote when I was 16 years old and we re-produced.
I want to add two more things about that:
When creating, there is uncertainty about how it will work in real life.
Kobi pushed me to believe in myself and be courageous to stay true to myself on this journey. However, when playing at a party, a DJ should remember that there is someone who needs this time right now to party, to sort something out with him/herself, to get loose/let things go…
As a DJ you should create a party and turn the crowd on.
This way, by the way, you can play however you want and the crowd will follow and enjoy the ride.
Is there a message you are trying to deliver to the audience?
It's a feeling, I can’t put the right word.
I'm trying to tune myself to the crowd. I love the atmosphere to be a bit uplifted with some sort of tension, excitement and drive.
What is your preferred music to listen to and to play for others?
I love sounds, I don't even need music, sometimes some words can work. I do enjoy probably any type of music . I love 90s hip-hop, it mesmerizes me. I probably have a special place for that in my heart as I grew up on it.
When playing, I just love it when the audience is listening and has patience.
You are doing a lot of collaborations with other DJs.
How does it feel to share the creation with someone else?
I love doing music with others. Once in a while, I produce myself but I do love to work with others.
Since the war in Israel started, I've done some sessions with several Israeli pop/rock artists and I have learned a lot from them as well as very enjoying working with them (Micha Shitrit, Asaf Amdurski, Knesiat ha Sehel, Arcadi Duchin and more).
What can you tell me about your inspiration sources?
Musically it can be 90s hip-hop, 80s, new pop ,70s rock ,just eastern music, sometimes even just amazing electronic music.
but I can get inspired by anything. Doesn’t have to be music.
I must take you back to the Loud project. It is the most popular project of yours. The project ended in 2017 but the crowd is still thirsty for more.
I see you'll have a Live Band show coming soon...Should we expect anything from that angle?
I don’t really know. Right now it is an offer we can't refuse. And I must say it feels good to know something we have done has value to many people.
Why did you choose to have your own label?
I have spent over 20 years in creating music and finding the right labels to release my tracks. However, I found that at the end of the day each label has its own type of music which isn’t necessarily correlated with all of my creation. So, I just decided to start my own label.
As well, now that I have basically released on all of the labels that I have ever dreamed of, I understand that it doesn’t really promote my portfolio and tells my own musical journey in the way I want, which also impacts my shows.
In addition, it’s such a beautiful way for me to just continuously release tracks that sometimes stay in the drawer.
Today I also feel ready from a music perspective as well as other needed reasons.
Would you like to share with producers a link/way to find your label to submit their tracks?
Actually, I’m not looking for artists right at the moment. It’s more for me and friends who produce weird music.
What should we expect to see from you in the coming 2-3 years ahead?
I wish I knew, hopefully lots of stories from the beach.
What do you think about the Israeli Trance/Techno scene?
The Israeli scene is home, this is where it all started for me. Like in any country, there are good and less good parties. On a personal level, I love the small parties more than the big ones. When it works here, it's the best.
OK Eitan, we are talking for a while now, many thanks for your openness so far. It is much appreciated!
Let's shake things up and have a quick association game: I ask - you fire an answer.
Ready to go?
Sure thing!
What track can you use and it will always do the job?Hallucinogen - L.S.D (Oliver Lieb remix)
What's your favorite track?
I have to write 3 I am sorry :)
A DJ you would like to play with?
I think that I played with any DJ I really wanted to play with…
What is your peak moment as a D.J.?
I can’t point at the exact moment but it was sometime in one of my sets at the Pumpui stage (at the Ozora Festival), something just happened there (can't remember the exact year).
It was not a different vibe than usual but something internal happened there. I could remember forcing myself to experience the moment with a deep understanding that I am living my dream right now.
The power of music I guess :)
Eitan Reiter playing at the Pumpui stage @the Ozora
What is your most embarrassing moment as a DJ?
Mmmm… Man, this one is pretty hard. There are the usual things when the music is turned off etc. Maybe something with the police…
I'm an easygoing person so I usually don't get embarrassed.
Now I'm embarrassed by the situation that I can’t give a good answer - is that OK?
I’ll let it go this time ;)
If you were a pop star, what star would you be?
2pac.
Message to the audience:
Enjoy life as much as you can
Eitan, thank you so much - It was such a big pleasure to talk and I wish you to keep creating beautiful sounds and share them with the world.
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